It's safe to come out, the flames have died down and normality is returning to the /newstuff chronicles. (well mostly...) So put away your fire extinguisher, pick up your mouse and start clicking away - as there's a ton of maps to play! This week it's a lightweight special, with all of the 43 (!) maps being deficient in the size department. (and some are deficient in other departments too...)

Revolution! by Thomas van der Velden(wad) - (txt) - 2.0MB - doom2.exe - SP - (img)(img)(img)(img)
This has been around for a while, and it appeared in newstuff a couple of weeks ago but was not reviewed, so I took the liberty of reviewing it. A 32-map megawad with a twist: all the maps are small. This is not necessarily a bad thing though, as each map has a certain quality and atmosphere about it. Many of the maps have a realistic theme, and the architecture is appropriately so. It's not highly detailed by today's standards, but it's not really bad either - in fact there are some nice touches and lighting effects throughout, and one of the later maps is extremely weird! The gameplay is easy, with plenty of health, ammo, armour and an average monster count of 60 - lesser skilled players will be fine here, and the more skilled players will want to turn on fast monsters. However, it does get tougher later on, with some pretty good scenarios and it's also very enjoyable. In fact it's possible to play at 100mph without having to quickload very often, which should make for some pretty exciting demos, so get recording (unless you've already done so). This is easily the smallest megawad I've played (taking me just 4 1/2 hours), but it's a nice little gem that's not to be missed. I can't wait for the sequel...

Tower of WAR Demo by The Net Nomad(wad) - (txt) - 0.2MB - doom2.exe - SP - (img)(img)(img)
Demo wads for up-and-coming megawads seem to be in fashion at the moment, as here's another one. This time it's a 6-map wad for Doom 2, part of a megawad-to-be called Tower of WAR and is also the author's first maps. The maps have an industrial theme, with a couple of office-style maps as well. The maps themselves are small, low in detail and fairly straightforward. Ammo and health are plentiful, and too abundant given the low monster count in each map. Not surprisingly then, the maps are easy to complete and a lot of you will need fast monsters to get any sort of challenge out of it. There are some new textures which aren't bad, and the way that Hexen's hellish sky is used creates some nice effects. The new music is good too (and includes one of those ROTT tunes that are really cool). If all the maps are similar in size, we could be looking at the smallest megawad ever (after the 10 sectors wad) but altogether it's not too bad for a first attempt.

Banana Skin by deathz0r(wad) - (txt) - 4K - n/a - n/a -
If you haven't seen this kicking around on the forums, it's a dancing banana that someone has turned into a skin, so download for a quick laugh.

Beginner's Guide to DEU by Rich Dersheimer(wad) - (txt) - 18K - n/a - n/a -
Quite simply, what the title says. So if anyone wants to start mapping, and wants to use the oldest (and one of the hardest) editors, then you know what to do. If not, but you still want to start mapping, try WadAuthor or DeePsea.

Paintball by Epyo(wad) - (txt) - 20K - ZDoom - n/a -
A graphics mod that replaces ZDoom's blood splatters and scorch marks with brightly coloured paint. Looks weird, and certainly worth it if you want to add a splash of colour to any map, or if you fancy redecorating a room with the new paintsaw.

Mockery Teaser Release by Covaro and others(wad) - (txt) - 0.3MB - doom2.exe - SP - (img)(img)
Ok, here's another megawad demo, and if I were you I'd download this now, as it's one of the best wads seen for a long time....ok I'll return to reality. A 4-map wad for the infamous Mockery megawad, and it fully lives up to it's expectations. The maps are small, silly and have more crappy features than the Red Dwarf prison cinema. But believe it or not, there are some good features - the gameplay isn't that bad, the maps are beatable without god mode, the funny textures are funny and the more serious textures are quite good, especially the golden lift texture. If you fancy a laugh (or a reasonable challenge), then play this and witness the mockery as your brain implodes....-=insert deep booming evil laugh here=-

Space Station Omega by Ethan Watson (Gooberman)(wad) - (txt) - 0.3MB - ZDoom - SP - (img)(img)
A single story-driven map set on a space station. After a nicely scripted intro, you follow a series of commands until (surprise, surprise) everything goes wrong. The map comprises mostly of highly-detailed narrow passages with a few accessible rooms and some neat elevators. ZDoom features are used aplenty, but the thing that sticks out about this wad is the scripted conversation system. It involves choosing a predefined response to the comments of various characters, which then triggers a response from the character, based on which option you chose. It's not that complicated though, as you only get a couple of options to choose from each time. However you will need to think (!) and so it's easy to get stuck if you don't know what you're doing (if in doubt, get on the radio). On the gameplay side, the monsters are placed realistically in terms of the storyline, but they're all small and consequently the map is pretty easy to finish. In fact, there are only a couple of places that will trouble you. So if you're a fan of traditional carnage, then you'll be disappointed as this isn't a traditional map. If you like maps with a ton of ZDoom features, nice architecture and special effects that fit the storyline and create an atmosphere, then this is the one for you. Like the recent RTC-3057 demo map (which it does resemble in some ways), it could use some tougher monsters IMO but that's only a minor niggle. In short, a quality tech map with some groundbreaking stuff. Play.

I'm pretty happy with UD's review of my map. Although I don't believe in sending in the big monsters until later on in a game/series, and since this is only the first map, I didn't put in anything bigger than a Demon/Spectre. The same applied for Doom Arcade, and it's been described as tough, so it's really just a matter of how the smaller monsters are used I guess.

Does anyone else see the irony in that in previous newstuff comments, we were told to stop flaming and start talking more about the wads, and now we're discussing how people aren't flaming and still not really talking about the wads?

__________________
RTC-3057: The future of DOOM.3057 reasons to keep dooming.

Paradox: The gateways have re-opened. But this time it isn't hellspawn who've come through...

I'm not starting a flamewar. Ultimate Doomer knows that when I call him a mindless zombie-raping incestuous slobber-pig it's only because I love him :p

Ultimate Doomer:
I liked the review of Space Station Omega. Very balanced look at the wad.
The review of TVR really made me want to download it, but it looks like you're a sort of "big picture" reviewer because there were all sorts of tiny insignificant details I would have picked apart to death just because I enjoy doing so.
Please tell me, by the way, which is the really weird level you were talking about. Was it map21?